Trieu: Michigan State chases another top Ohio LB in Jestin Jacobs

Throughout Mark Dantonio’s tenure at Michigan State, the Spartans have had a number of great linebackers, and Ohio has provided a good number of those talented players with Denicos Allen, Greg Jones and currently Joe Bachie among the notables.

In the 2019 recruiting cycle, the Spartans have already gone back into Ohio and offered a number of the state’s top linebacking prospects.

The most recent of those offers went to Clayton Northmont’s Jestin Jacobs.

"They were at my school a couple weeks ago, and Coach (Paul) Haynes sent me a text that I had the offer," Jacobs told Bill Greene of 247Sports. "I'm very interested in Michigan State, and I will be setting up a visit there. I want to go there this spring and visit them."

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Jacobs recorded 74 tackles and 3.5 sacks as a junior. He is ranked by the 247Sports Composite as a top-25 junior in Ohio.

“He’s a quick athlete that has great length,” Greene said. “He can come off the edge and pressure the passer, but is also good against the run. He has great upside and is nowhere near fully developed.”

Greene believes Jacobs still has much to see and figure out in his recruitment.

Iowa, Northwestern, Kentucky, Purdue, Vanderbilt and Cincinnati are among his other offers. Michigan State’s staff has a long-standing relationship with his head coach at Northmont, Tony Broering, and they have offered his teammate, defensive end Gabe Newburg.

While Jacobs and Newburg share the Spartan offer, playing together again in college is not a certainty.

“I asked (Jacobs) about that (playing with Newburg in college),” Greene said, “and he said they need to make their own decisions.”

Jacobs holds a 3.1 grade-point average and scored a 25 on his ACT, so academics will be a significant part of his decision.

"I don't think distance from home will be a problem for me at all,” he said, “and playing college football is a goal of mine so that won't bother me at all. What is going to make the difference for me will be the relationships I form, and what school fits with what I want to study academically."

Michigan State will have an opportunity to show him those aspects of its school when he visits campus.

"I think I will know the right school when it feels like home to me," he said.

Four-star offensive tackle offered

Marietta (Ga.) offensive tackle Jake Wray was offered by Michigan State on Thursday.

Allen Trieu covers Midwest football recruiting for 247Sports. He has been featured on the Big Ten Network on its annual Signing Day Show. His Michigan and Michigan State recruiting columns appear weekly at detroitnews.com.